22 CHICAGO READER | OCTOBER 7,2005 | SECTION T WO
Listings are compiled by Jerome Ludwig from information available a week before publication. Admission is free unless otherwise noted. See Theater & Performance Readings & Lectures listings in this section for open mikes, poetry slams, and spoken-word events.
Chicago Book Festival The city’s sixth annual monthlong book fest continues with the following events. Patricia Critic’s Choice Monaghan discusses Irish Spirit: Pagan, Celtic, Christian, Global. Sat 10/8, 11 AM, Harold Washington Library Center, audito- rium, 400 S. State, 312-747-4300. “So You Want to Write a Romance?” panel with Dyanna Davis (The Wedding Gown), Barbara Keaton (All I Ask), and Lisa G. Jared Diamond Riley (Caught Up in the Rapture). Sat 10/8, 1 PM, Woodson Regional Library, 9525 S. Halsted, 312-747-6921. Gail Ramsey signs hy is it that, out of all the world’s peoples, her suspense novel, Tick Tock. Sat 10/8, 3- Europeans were the ones who discovered and con- 5 PM, Bessie Coleman branch library, 731 W quered so many others? Few historians deal with E. 63rd, 312-747-7760. • Carla Curtis pres- this question. It took an outsider, UCLA physiologist Jared ents Grip the Rope: A Single Woman’s Diamond, to put together an answer in the best-selling Parenting Journey. Sun 10/9, 2 PM, 1997 Pulitzer Prize winner Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Woodson Regional Library, 9525 S. Fates of Human Societies. Drawing on fields from archae- Halsted, 312-747-6921. • Shanita B. ology to crop genetics, Diamond concludes that Europeans Akintonde shares advice from Unleash the dominated in part because of geography: they came from a “Agony and Ecstasy: Challenges of Leader Within You: How to Achieve the continent with few barriers (allowing useful innovations to Designing for Sustainment” Talk by Success You Deserve. Mon 10/10, 6 PM, diffuse easily) and many plants and animals that could be Australia-based designer Tony Fry, founder Woodson Regional Library, 9525 S. Halsted, usefully domesticated (the germs they harbored proved of the EcoDesign Foundation. Fri 10/7, 6:30 312-747-6921. • Bebe Moore Campbell reads devastating to Native Americans). Diamond claims moral PM, ArchiCenter, 224 S. Michigan, 312-922- from her new novel, 72 Hour Hold. Tue as well as intellectual reasons for telling this story. In the 3432. Donations welcome to benefit 10/11, 6 PM, Harold Washington Library absence of any other explanation for the European con- Chicago’s Resource Center. A related sym- Center, auditorium, 400 S. State, 312-747- quest, he writes, people often resort, “consciously or uncon- posium follows on Sat 10/8, 10 AM-6:30 4300. Neighborhood Writing Alliance mem- sciously, to racist assumptions....That prevalence of racist PM, at the Experimental Station, 6100 S. bers read their contributions to the Journal theories, as loathsome as they are unsupported, is the Blackstone, 773-834-7385. Registration of Ordinary Thought. Tue 10/11, 6 PM, King strongest reason for studying the long-term factors behind required. branch library, 3436 S. King Dr., 312-747- human history.” Last month, regardless, a couple of anthro- 7543. Bernard C. Turner presents his kids’ pologists at the blog savageminds.org tried to tag Diamond Will Alsop The London-based architect dis- book T.J. and the Mysterious Stranger. Tue as a racially insensitive apologist. I think they’re just jeal- cusses his mission: “to give the world 10/11, 6:30 PM, Whitney M. Young branch ous. a Tue 10/11, 7:30 PM, Field Museum, 1400 S. Lake extraordinary objects of desire.” Mon library, 7901 S. King Dr., 312-747-0039. • Shore Dr., 312-665-7400. $24-$30, $15 students and edu- 10/10, 6 PM, ArchiCenter, 224 S. Michigan, Anthony Moore discusses Scholarship Rich: cators. Advance tickets recommended. —Harold Henderson 312-922-3432, ext. 266. $25, $15 students. Get Paid (Not Played) to Go to College! Thu 10/13, 6:30 PM, Whitney M. Young branch Art Institute of Chicago Michigan & library, 7901 S. King Dr., 312-747-0039. The Jared Diamond Tue 10/11, 7:30 Ashland, 773-275-5255. $5. Rothbart signs Wed 10/12, 2 PM, Columbia College Hokin Adams. Lectures and gallery talks (all in festival runs through 10/29; for more call c PM, Field Museum, 1400 S. Lake copies of the book. Thu 10/13, 7:30 PM, Annex, 623 S. Wabash, 312-344-7634. Kelly Gallery 100): “The Art of Ancient 312-747-1194 or see chicagopubliclibrary.org. Shore Dr., 312-665-7400. $24-$30, $15 stu- Borders, 1 N. La Grange Rd., La Grange, speaks on “Iraq, Compassion, and Teotihuacan,” Fri 10/7, noon. “Viva dents and educators. Advance tickets rec- 708-579-9660. Communion.” Thu 10/13, 7 PM, DePaul Picasso,” Sat 10/8, noon. “Gauguin in Chick Lit Affair Signings and discussion ommended. Univ. Student Center, room 120, 2250 N. Tahiti,” Tue 10/11, noon. “Italian Baroque with local authors Laura Caldwell (The Richard Franke The chair and cofounder Sheffield, 773-325-7423. Art,” Thu 10/13, 6 PM. • Collection tours (all Night I Got Lucky), Stacey Ballis (Sleeping The Dollar Store This series (motto: Cheap of the Chicago Humanities Festival discuss- begin in Gallery 100): “Highlights of the Art Over), Jennifer O’Connell (Off the Record), Lit) presents readings based on various es his memoir, Cut From Whole Cloth: An Doug Lansky shares tips from First-Time Institute,” Sat 10/8, Sun 10/9, and Tue and Cara Lockwood (Dixieland Sushi). Thu dollar-store items. This edition features Immigrant Experience. Mon 10/11, 7 PM, Around the World: A Trip Planner for the 10/11, 2 PM. “Asian Art,” Mon 10/10, 1 PM. 10/13, 7:30 PM, Borders, 2817 N. Clark, 773- comics artist Paul Hornschemeier, writer 57th Street Books, 1301 E. 57th, 773-684- Ultimate Journey and other of his Rough “American Art,” Thu 10/13, 1 PM. 312-443- 935-3909. Joe Tower, and writer-performer Stephanie 1300. Guide travel guides. Sat 10/8, 2 PM, 3600. Free with $12 suggested museum Shaw. Hosted by thisisgrand.org editor Borders, 2817 N. Clark, 773-935-3909. admission; $7 students, seniors, kids 6 and Helene Cixous The critic, novelist, play- Jonathan Messinger and comedian Sean Gallery 400 Voices Artist Christine Hill up. Tuesdays free. wright, and literary theorist talks about Gardner. Fri 10/7, 7 PM, Hideout, 1354 W. lectures on her work. Thu 10/13, 5 PM, Lyric Opera Lectures Lyn Snoble of the writing. Tue 10/11, noon-2 PM, Wabansia, 773-227-4433. $1 suggested Gallery 400, Univ. of Illinois at Chicago, Lyric Opera lecture corps discusses Beatriz Badikian-Gartler reads from her Northwestern Univ. Fisk Hall, room 217, donation. 1240 W. Harrison, 312-996-6114. Rossini’s La Cenerentola. Sat 10/8, 1 PM, debut novel, Old Gloves: A 20th Century 1845 Sheridan, Evanston, 847-491-7294. Edgebrook branch library, 5331 W. Devon, Saga. Fri 10/7, 6 PM, Poster Plus, 200 S. Also see “States of Art Criticism.” Scott Eden The ND alum promotes Renny Golden The Northeastern Illinois 312-744-8313. Michael Altman covers the Michigan, 312-461-9277. Touchdown Jesus: Faith and Fandom at University justice studies prof talks about same. Sat 10/8, 2 PM, Evanston Public Joshua Cohen reads from his story collec- Notre Dame. Wed 10/12, 7:30 PM, Barnes & War on the Family: Mothers in Prison and Library, 1703 Orrington, Evanston, 847- Christopher Benson signs Death of tion, The Quorum. Sat 10/8, 7 PM, Quimby’s Noble, 55 Old Orchard Center, Skokie, 847- the Families They Leave Behind. Thu 10/13, 866-0300. Innocence: The Story of the Hate Crime Bookstore, 1854 W. North, 773-342-0910. 676-2230. Thu 10/13, 12:30 PM, Borders, 7:30 PM, Women & Children First, 5233 N. That Changed America. Sun 10/9, 3 PM, 150 N. State, 312-606-0750. Clark, 773-769-9299. Lyric Opera Roundtable Discussion on Books Ink, 1835 W. 103rd, 773-445-9984. College of Complexes Mike McCune holds Rossini’s La Cenerentola with conductor forth on “The Evils of the Information Age: Emerging Writers Reading Series Poet Allison Hantschel aka “Athenae of First Bruno Campanella and bass-baritone John Berendt ( Midnight in the Garden of Spam, Viruses, Spyware, Etc—What They Sam White ( The Goddess of the Hunt Is Not Draft” discusses Special Plans: The Blogs Alessandro Corbelli. Thu 10/13, 6 PM, Good and Evil) talks about The City of Are and How to Deal With Them.” Sat 10/8, Herself) is paired with a U. of C. student to on Douglas Feith and the Faulty Italian Cultural Institute, 500 N. Michigan, Falling Angels. Tue 10/11, 7 PM, Borders, 8 PM, Lincoln Restaurant, 4008 N. Lincoln, be announced. Tue 10/11, 6 PM, Univ. of Intelligence That Led to War. Tue 10/11, suite 1450, 312-822-9545. 830 N. Michigan, 312-573-0564. 312-326-2120 or 312-842-5036. $3 plus a $5 Chicago Classics Hall, room 10, 1010 E. 7:30 PM, Barbara’s Bookstore, 1100 Lake, food/drink purchase. 59th, 773-834-8524. Also see Danny’s Oak Park, 708-848-9140. Gregory Maguire ( Wicked) reads from his Charles Billington signs Wrigley Field’s Reading Series for White. new novel, Son of a Witch. Mon 10/10, 7:30 Last World Series: The Wartime Chicago “Creative Living in the City” Cook County Aleksandar Hemon A Poetry Center- PM, Barbara’s Bookstore, 1218 S. Halsted, Cubs and the Pennant of 1945. Sat 10/8, Forest Preserve District education manag- Rita Emmett ( The Procrastinator’s R sponsored reading by the author of 312-413-2665. noon-2 PM, AU Sports Memorabilia, 5129 er John Elliott speaks on “Jens Jensen, Handbook) plugs The Clutter-Busting Nowhere Man and The Question of Bruno. Dempster, Skokie, 847-679-8310. Len Dwight Perkins, and Their Struggles to Handbook: Clean It Up, Clear It Out, and Tue 10/11, 6:30 PM, School of the Art “Making It in the Midwest” Merullo and Andy Pafko, shortstop and Establish the Forest Preserve District of Keep Your Life Clutter-Free. Sat 10/8, 3 PM, Institute ballroom, 112 S. Michigan, 312- Cinema/Chicago panel discussion for aspir- outfielder for the 1945 Chicago Cubs, will Cook County.” Thu 10/13, 12:15 PM, Chicago Barnes & Noble, 1441 W. Webster, 773-871- 899-1229. $10. ing filmmakers. Sat 10/8, 11 AM, Borders, sign memorabilia. Cultural Center, Claudia Cassidy Theater, 78 3610. 2817 N. Clark, 773-935-3909. E. Washington, 312-744-6630. Her Mark 2006 Datebook Release Party Augusten Burroughs The author of the “The Epic of Creation: Scientific, Reception and readings by contributing Elizabeth Marquardt presents Between memoirs Running With Scissors and Dry Danny’s Reading Series Poets Sam White Biblical, and Theological Perspectives poets. Sun 10/9, 2-4 PM, Woman Made Two Worlds: The Inner Lives of Children of and the essay collection Magical Thinking ( The Goddess of the Hunt Is Not Herself) on Our Origins” Center for Humans and Gallery, 2418 W. Bloomingdale, 773-489- Divorce. Mon 10/10, 7:30 PM, Barnes & lectures. Tue 10/11, 7:30 PM, Harper and Christian Hawkey (The Book of Nature primatologist Paul Heltne and 8900. Noble, 55 Old Orchard Center, 847-676- College Performing Arts Center, 1200 W. Funnels) are the featured readers. Wed Northwestern University anthropologist 2230. Algonquin Rd., Palatine, 847-925-6100. 10/12, 7:30 PM, Danny’s Tavern, 1951 W. William Irons lecture for this series. Mon “In Search of Lewis and Clark” Lecture $10-$15. Dickens, 773-489-6457. 21+ only. Also see 10/10, 7-10 PM, Zygon Center for Religion by historian James P. Ronda (Lewis and Allan R. Millett The military historian dis- Emerging Writers Reading Series for and Science, Lutheran School of Theology, Clark Among the Indians). Sat 10/8, 11 AM, cusses The War for Korea, 1945-1950: A “Can’t Stop, Won’t Stop: The Past, White. 1100 E. 55th, 773-256-0670. Newberry Library, 60 W. Walton, 312-255- House Burning. Thu 10/13, 6 PM, Pritzker Present, and Future of Hip-Hop 3700. Military Library, 610 N. Fairbanks, 312-587- Activism” Journalist Jeff Chang (Can’t “Democracy as Policy Goal and Universal “Experiencing Katrina” Talk by journalist 0234. Reservations requested. A reception Stop, Won’t Stop: A History of the Hip-Hop Value” Lecture by National Endowment for William Jeanes. Mon 10/10, 5:30 PM, Narendra Jadhav discusses his memoir, and signing precedes. Generation) heads a Public Square/Illinois Democracy president Carl Gershman. A Northwestern Univ. University Hall, Untouchables: My Family’s Triumphant Humanities Council panel; he’ll be joined Chicago Council on Foreign Relations pro- Hagstrum Room, 1897 Sheridan, Evanston, Journey Out of the Caste System in Modern Mary Anne Mohanraj reads from her by UIC education prof David Stoval and gram. Tue 10/11, 6 PM, Hilton Chicago, 720 847-467-4099. India. Wed 10/12, 7 PM, Book Stall at story collection Bodies in Motion. Tue University of Hip-Hop founder Lavie Raven. S. Michigan, 312-726-3860. $30. Chestnut Court, 811 Elm, Winnetka, 847- 10/11, 5 PM, Roosevelt Univ., room 244, Thu 10/13, 6-8 PM, University of Hip-Hop, “Fifty Years of ‘Howl’” Local poets 446-8880. 430 S. Michigan, 312-341-3770. Southwest Youth Collaborative, 6400 S. DePaul Geographical Society DePaul Charlie Rossiter, Jared Smith, Cherie Kedzie, 312-422-5580. University urban planning prof Joseph Caswell Dost, Al DeGenova, and others Tyehimba Jess reads from his new poetry Afshin Molavi ( Persian Pilgrimages) dis- Schwieterman speaks on “The Future of read excerpts of Allen Ginsberg’s famous collection, Leadbelly. Tue 10/11, 7 PM, 57th cusses The Soul of Iran: A Nation’s Journey Neil Cavuto ( More Than Money) signs Your Amtrak.” Sat 10/8, 1:30 PM, DePaul Univ. poem. Presented by After Hours magazine. Street Books, 1301 E. 57th, 773-684-1300. to Freedom. Thu 10/13, 7:30 PM, Left of Money or Your Life. Thu 10/13, 12:30 PM, Schmitt Academic Center, room 154, 2320 Fri 10/7, 6:30-9 PM, Studio 1819, 1819 N. Center Bookstore, 1043 W. Granville, 773- Barnes & Noble, DePaul Center, 1 E. N. Kenmore, 773-325-7871. $2, $1.50 sen- Hermitage, 773-645-9009. Donation Wayne Johnston discusses his memoir, 338-1513. Jackson, 312-362-8792. iors, $1 students. requested. Baltimore’s Mansion, at a Chicago Humanities Festival “Books and Brunch” Dick Morris The political consultant signs Chicago Architecture Foundation “Design and Ethics: A Rethinking for Found Magazine Lone Surfer Tour program. Sat 10/8, 10 AM-noon, Chicago Condi vs. Hillary: The Next Great Lunchtime Lecture Debora Wood and Alison Remaking” Panel with designer Tony Fry, R Found magazine founder Davy Athletic Association, 12 S. Michigan, 312- Presidential Race. Thu 10/13, 12:30 PM, Fisher of the Block Museum of Art discuss UIC architecture school director Daniel S. Rothbart reads from his quite good story 661-1028, ext. 22, or chfestival.org. $15- Barnes & Noble, DePaul Center, 1 E. “Marion Mahony Griffin Pattern and Design: Friedman, UIC design history prof Victor collection, The Lone Surfer of Montana, $20. Reservations requested. Jackson, 312-362-8792. Architectural Connections Between America Margolin, and Chicago Architecture Kansas; Peter Rothbart performs songs and Australia.” Wed 10/12, 12:15 PM, Foundation curator Ned Cramer. Tue 10/11, based on Found items; and the Neo- Kathy Kelly The cofounder of Voices in the Holly Morris ( Uncommon Waters: Women ArchiCenter, 224 S. Michigan, 312-922-3432, 6 PM, Archeworks, 625 N. Kingsbury, 312- Futurists perform scenes as well. Wed Wilderness presents Other Lands Have Write About Fishing) talks about Adventure ext. 266. 867-7254. Reservations requested. 10/12, 8 PM, Neo-Futurarium, 5153 N. Dreams: From Baghdad to Pekin Prison. continued on page 31 CHICAGO READER | OCTOBER 7,2005 | SECTION TWO 23 The41 Readerst’s GuidChie to the cago International Fı lm Festival 24 CHICAGO READER | OCTOBER 7,2005 | SECTION T WO Chicago International Fı lm Festival Film Capital of the Week Being a second-rate movie town has its advantages.
By Jonathan Rosenbaum eaven knows what pos- about them, because the festival section was the story playing Jesus in his own film. Cloud). I’m not sure if this is a sessed the Chicago industry, which assumes no one’s “Modine a casualty of the red All the same, Toronto is by critical position—the New York H International Film interested in such films, kept carpet: Actor pays price for common consensus the site of film festival does the same thing Festival to adopt “Film capital of their profiles so low. wearing open-toed shoes.” the most important film festival with Lars von Trier—but it’s a the world” as its slogan this year, Plenty of what the industry The tale about Matthew in North America, having likable one. The Chicago festival but considering some of the thinks we should be interested in Modine’s foot being stepped on bypassed Sundance as a mar- did miss Manoel de Oliveira’s movies that played in New York was on display a month ago at the by someone in high heels ended keting tool of the studios, though last feature, O Quinto Imperio and Los Angeles recently and 30th Toronto International Film with “Read into this what you still trailing far behind Cannes in (2004), but it’s been showing his never made it here, it’s more than Festival. More than ever before may: Modine has been in town terms of prestige. With a bit of work with such devoted regu- a stretch. Among the remarkable the industry reps casually took for the screening of his new one, goodwill, Chicago’s festival might larity for so long that the 96- films they could see and we over the city as they previewed the not-so-serious and acquired- qualify our city as the “film cap- year-old Portuguese master said couldn’t were the subtitled, not their latest “indie” and “art”—as taste film Mary. He plays Jesus.” ital of the midwest.” The studios’ he might turn up here this year. the dubbed, version of Hayao opposed to mainstream—product. Having seen Mary—an excep- lack of interest in this event may Whether or not he makes it, the Miyazaki’s Howl’s Moving Castle American journalists these tionally serious film that won’t be a blessing, because we’re not festival deserves our gratitude (2004), Abbas Kiarostami’s Five days are showing more compas- be coming here anytime soon, if being bullied by celebrity jour- for championing him—and for (2003), Hou Hsiao-hsien’s Cafe sion for ordinary people in dire at all, even though it won the nalism and advertising for a few screening such exceptional films Lumiere (2003), and several straits, but the main headline on special jury prize at Venice—I favored films and can make our as The Squid and the Whale, The 2005 films, including Tickets the Toronto-based National Post suddenly found myself wanting own choices. Death of Mr. Lazarescu, Play, (with 40-minute episodes by on September 15—“Ottawa’s to defend it. Abel Ferrara’s film I have to applaud the festival’s and The Boys of Baraka. Kiarostami, Ken Loach, and Afghan Warning: Bill Graham is indeed difficult and dis- faithfulness in sticking with cer- Screenings this year are being Ermanno Olmi), Hou’s Three expected to tell nation troops jointed, but it also has many tain filmmakers year after year, held through October 20. Many Times, Alexander Sokurov’s The will die”—was overshadowed by powerful elements, including even when nobody else likes directors and a few actors are Sun, and Jean-Pierre and Luc a huge glamour shot captioned bold ideas about religion and them (Claude Lelouch, Lina scheduled to appear at screen- Dardenne’s L’enfant. Of course “Cameron Diaz Snaps at fine performances by Forest Wertmuller) or when they run ings of their films. Check the even if you lived in New York or Photographers.” On the front Whitaker, Juliette Binoche, and off the rails (Tsai Ming-liang, festival Web site for up-to- LA you might not have heard page of the same edition’s film- Modine, as a writer-director with this year’s The Wayward date information.
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Friday, October 7 pany of neighbors, and their lively tache—a simple act that plunges him nude tableaux. Dench crackles as the uncomfortably close, warts-and-all conversations bounce from the euro into a web of deception and para- feisty dowager who finds love and intimacy and filled with uneroticized Learning to Swallow to infirmity to theology. Shots are noia. Incensed that his wife true calling late in life; her bons mots nudity and sex (genitals exhibited up For years Patsy Desmond, sub- well framed and often humorously (Emmanuelle Devos) ignores what and trenchant ripostes come courtesy close and personal in both bathroom R ject of a January Reader cover juxtaposed, as in a cutaway to a drip- he’s done, he goads her into com- of writer Martin Sherman (Bent, The and bedroom modes), it almost story, was an enfant terrible of the ping faucet that eloquently conveys menting and is further enraged that Boy From Oz), who reaches beyond forces us to ask how much reality is Chicago boho art scene, semilegendary Marita’s daughter’s exasperation with she and friends and colleagues insist nostalgia to riff on the relationship too much. Yet the combination of all- for her outrageous antics. She was also her obstinate mother. In Spanish and he never had a mustache. It seems he between commerce and art and on too-corporeal naked human bodies bipolar and drank and did drugs— Valenciano with subtitles. 78 min. might be going mad, and things get the transcendent power of beauty. and inchoate ruminations on the and during a paranoid delusional (AG) a Landmark, 6:30 PM more surreal when on a whim he 103 min. (AG) a Landmark, 7 PM nature of relationships ultimately moment tried to commit suicide by flees to Hong Kong. This narrative becomes an affirmation of chugging drain cleaner. In her first Garpastum feature debut by Emmanuel Carrere, The Buried Forest unfetishized flesh that harks back to feature veteran PBS documentarian The title of this Russian drama, a based on his own novel, is deliber- Kohei Oguri (Muddy River) directed Warhol and his memorable experi- Danielle Beverly picks up Desmond’s Latin word for a ball game that dates ately open-ended, but however one this story about a high school student ments in cinematic transparency, story after she moves to Florida to back to ancient times, is a reference interprets the outcome, the film in a mountain village who starts a achieving Swanberg’s avowed pur- recuperate and try to put the pieces to a group of buddies who play reminds us how fragile intimacy is. storytelling relay with her girl- pose of “reclaiming images from of her life back together. She then pickup soccer games for money in In French with subtitles. 82 min. friends—a narrative game resem- pornography” and placing them follows Desmond for several years, hopes of buying a playing field. Alexei (AG) a Landmark, 6:45 PM bling the one Thai filmmaker squarely in the realm of the banal. 78 showing her traveling to Boston for a Guerman, son of the accomplished Apichatpong Weerasethakul used in min. (RS) a River East, 8:45 PM marathon surgical procedure that Russian filmmaker of the same name, Sangre his first feature, Mysterious Object at could restore her ability to swallow is certainly a talented director, This first feature by Amat Escalante Noon. Also on the program, Paul Tuning but doesn’t and eventually moving advancing his story in an engaging is about a routine marriage that’s dis- Bush’s short While Darwin Sleeps. In Slovene director Igor Sterk’s worthy back to Chicago, where she continues episodic fashion, even though some of rupted when the husband’s daughter Japanese with subtitles. 93 min. (JR) venture into Bergman territory, a her battle with substance abuse and the characters are blandly realized. by a previous marriage turns up. In a Landmark, 7:15 PM stylized contemplation on a disinte- alcoholism while reconnecting with Because it’s set on the eve of World Spanish with subtitles. 90 min. grating marriage, makes for heavy old friends and triumphantly War I, there’s the sense that life- a River East, 7 PM Johanna sledding, the couple’s winsome blond exhibiting some of her photographs. altering events are imminent, but Directed by Kornel Mundruczo, this daughters providing the only grace 89 min. (JK) a River East, 6:30 PM nothing much happens besides a Mrs. Henderson Presents Hungarian feature adapts an opera notes of their sterile bourgeois co- senseless act of violence toward the Posh meets prole in this period about a modern-day Joan of Arc dependency. Each partner drifts into My Grandmother’s House end of the film. Still, cameraman R drama elegantly directed by (Orsi Toth): she starts off as a mor- infidelity. The husband’s surprise Set in a Spanish industrial town, Oleg Lukichov’s sepia-toned, deep- Stephen Frears (Dangerous Liaisons, phine addict and winds up as a encounter with a high school sweet- Adan Aliaga’s documentary about focus compositions are gorgeous to Prick Up Your Ears). In Depression- promiscuous nurse who heals heart awakens long-dead emotions, aging and the relentless march of look at. With Evgeny Pronin, Danila era London a headstrong widowed through sex. In French with subtitles. which soon perish because he doesn’t progress is vigorous and witty and Kozlovsky, and Chulpan Khamatova. aristocrat (Judi Dench) turns impre- 83 min. a Landmark, 8:30 PM act on them. The wife, given to nightly never drifts toward the maudlin. In Russian with subtitles. 116 min. sario, renovating Soho’s vacant sobbing jags, essays an affair with a Marita, a 75-year-old widow who (JK) a River East, 6:45 PM Windmill Theatre and hiring an Kissing on the Mouth poet via cell phone messaging. Ennui, looks after her unruly, precocious six- innovative producer (Bob Hoskins) to This huge, messy blob of a movie by silence, and stasis weigh heavily as year-old granddaughter, resists La moustache run it. When their initial success Chicago director Joe Swanberg the husband and wife drag their bag- moving when she learns her block is A happy Parisian couple’s marriage is staging musical revues around the intentionally wallows in amateur gage around like dysfunctional tor- to be razed for a condo development. endangered when the husband clock fades, she hits upon the idea of digital verite. Improvised and pho- toises. In Slovene with subtitles. 68 She finds solace in TV and the com- (Vincent Lindon) shaves off his mus- showcasing working-class lovelies in tographed by its four actors in min. (RS) a Landmark, 8:45 PM CHICAGO READER | OCTOBER 7,2005 | SECTION TWO 25
R Reviews by: Meredith Brody, Andrea Gronvall, Jim Healy, J.R. Jones, Joshua Katzman, Shelly Kraicer, Richard M. Porton, Jonathan Rosenbaum, Martin Rubin, Ronnie Scheib
WHERE River East 21 (322 E. Illinois), Landmark’s Century Centre (2828 N. Clark) PRICE $11 after 5 PM ($8 for Cinema/Chicago members), $6 weekday matinees (before 5 PM). Passes for multiple screenings also available. Special presentations, which include “Critic’s Choice” and eight other programs, are $15 ($12 for Cinema/Chicago members). ADVANCE SALES Cinema/Chicago, 30 E. Adams, suite 800; Borders, 2817 N. Clark and 830 N. Michigan. By fax: 312-683-0122. By phone: 312-332-3456; Ticketmaster, 312-902-1500. INFO 312-332-3456 or chicagofilmfestival.com LISTINGS ONLINE chicagoreader.com
The Wayward Cloud The first Tsai Ming-liang film I’ve Saturday, October 8 disliked recycles its predecessors’ main actors (Lee Kang-sheng, Chen Garpastum Shiang-chyi), physical elements See listing under Friday, October 7. (water, Taipei), themes (loneliness, a River East, 2 PM alienation), and stylistic tropes (sym- metrical compositions, absence of The Masseur dialogue). It does offer more lavish See listing under Friday, October 7. musical numbers than The Hole, a Landmark, 2 PM including choreographed Chinese versions of “Sixteen Tons” and “The Kissing on the Mouth Wayward Wind,” and two key addi- See listing under Friday, October 7. tions are watermelons and hard-core a River East, 2:15 PM sex, sometimes used in conjunction. Tsai’s obvious disgust at the sex is The Consequences of Love part of what makes the film so Holed up in a Swiss-Italian hotel, unpleasant; he remains a brilliant Titta di Girolamo, the dour protago- original, but this is a parody of his nist of Paolo Sorrentino’s leisurely gifts. In Mandarin with subtitles. 112 thriller, seems like the last person on min. (JR) a Landmark, 9:15 PM earth to be involved in criminal intrigue. Whether eyeing the hotel’s The Masseur beautiful bartender with stony In Filipino director Brillante detachment or fighting bouts of Mendoza’s first feature a gay mas- insomnia with grim stoicism, he sage-parlor worker has to cope with seems the essence of boring propriety. the death of his father, look after his But we gradually discover that he’s a mother, and manage new clients. In furtive junkie being pursued by mem- Tagalog and Pampango with subti- bers of the underworld. Toni Servillo’s tles. 76 min. a Landmark, 9:30 PM portrayal of the chilly Titta is the film’s one unassailable asset. Unfortunately The Dark Hours Sorrentino’s often playful assault on Lean, smart, and relentless, this genre conventions is sabotaged by an R Canadian nail-biter by director ostentatious visual style that alludes Paul Fox recycles familiar plot ele- to the work of such disparate direc- ments but twists them into a psycho- tors as Antonioni and Scorsese but is logical pretzel all its own. An offi- little more than a bag of empty tricks. cious psychiatrist (Kate Greenhouse) In Italian with subtitles. 100 min. takes time off from her work at a (RMP) a Landmark, 2:15 PM treatment center for violent sex offenders to relax with her husband Future Filmmakers and younger sister at a country A program of films and videos by house, where they’re captured and Illinois artists under 20 that terrorized by an escaped patient screened at Columbia College in May. (Aidan Devine) who has an ax to 97 min. a River East, 2:30 PM F grind with the doctor (literally). Sadistic games follow, though screen- The Buried Forest writer Wil Zmak focuses mostly on See listing under Friday, October 7. the war of wills between doctor and a Landmark, 2:30 PM patient, which is freighted with all manner of secrets. 76 min. (JJ) My Grandmother’s House a River East, 11:30 PM See listing under Friday, October 7. a Landmark, 3 PM P The object of some controversy as Shorts: Homegrown the first Thai movie directed by a Ten short works by Chicago and Westerner, Paul Spurrier’s horror tale other Illinois directors, including about a young bar girl who channels some newcomers: Paul Cotter, Bob dark spirits is altogether more Blinn, Hannah Dallman, Serena generic, gorier, and sleazier than the Moy, Wenhwa Ts’ao, Jason Winer, Pang brothers’ Bangkok-based Junko Kajino, Ed M. Koziarski, chillers, but it hooks neatly into the Josh Hyde, Oliver Hockenhull, and Asian fascination with nubile young Justin Hayward. 90 min. a River women as portals to the vengeful, East, 4:15 PM Learning to Swallow, Mrs. Henderson Presents, The Dark Hours primal forces of nature. The first half focuses on the psychology of its Everlasting Regret It’s Not You, It’s Me Two Auroras renowned tenor, and scarred by Khmer heroine and her slow indoc- Stanley Kwan makes Hong Juan Taratuto’s feature, reportedly The 1948 classic Letter From an his abandonment of her, she trination into the infamous glitzy R Kong’s smartest “women’s the biggest domestic commercial Unknown Woman inspired this spends lavishly on a reunion she squalor of Thailand’s bar scene. The pictures” and most provocative hit in Argentina this year, tracks pitch-black melodrama (2004) by hopes will help her son and repair supernatural elements enter slowly, nostalgia films, so the release of his the woes of a surgeon and disc Mexico’s Jaime Humberto her relationship with him. She’s so as she calls on paranormal forces to latest, an adaptation of Wang Anyi’s jockey in Buenos Aires who plans Hermosillo. Maria Rojo plays the emotionally stunted that her improve her exotic pole dancing and novel tracing the life of a Shanghai to move to the U.S. to join his girl- elder Aurora, a successful career obsession with her son becomes better please her Eurotrash cus- beauty queen from the 1940s to friend. When he discovers she’s woman and unwed mother who devouring, yet she has no interest tomers. Her murderous impulses the ’80s, is automatically a major been two-timing him he decides to comes home to Guadalajara to in the illegitimate granddaughter soon peak, and the film descends event. Never a slave to Hollywood’s stay where he is and buy a dog. In care for her suicidal son. Besotted named for her. In Spanish with precipitously into a run-of-the-mill narrative conventions, Kwan privi- Spanish with subtitles. 105 min. since her teen years with the subtitles. 90 min. (AG) a River gorefest. In Thai with subtitles. 109 leges mood, ambience, light, and a River East, 9 PM young man’s father, a world- East, 9:15 PM min. (RS) a Landmark, 11:30 PM character over storytelling, skirting 26 CHICAGO READER | OCTOBER 7,2005 | SECTION T WO Chicago International Fı lm Festival
the obscurities of Shanghai gang quietly effective if underused mother. warfare and Maoist revolutionary This ambitious film offers a fasci- upheaval to bear in on the nating close-grained view of Beijing’s indomitable Wang Qiyao as she’s disappearing old neighborhoods, but pulled toward a series of dangerously it suffers from a strained melodra- glamorous men who exemplify the matic tone and insufficient structure. seductive lure of the eras in which In Mandarin with subtitles. 129 min. they live. The incandescent Sammi (SK) a River East, 6:45 PM Cheng, a Hong Kong diva and light comedy star, is a revelation as Qiyao. Border Cafe In Mandarin with subtitles. 115 min. Iranian director Kambozia (SK) a Landmark, 4:15 PM R Partovi—celebrated screen- writer of The Circle, Deserted It’s Not You, It’s Me Station, and I Am Taraneh, 15— See listing under Friday, October 7. creates a feminist heroine in a less a River East, 4:30 PM tragic mold in this story of a widow determined to survive on her own. The Wayward Cloud Local custom demands that the See listing under Friday, October 7. recently bereaved Reyhan (Fereshtei a Landmark, 4:30 PM Sadre Orafaei) marry her brother- in-law; having no desire to become Borderline Lovers his second wife, she resists the pres- An intimate documentary por- sure and reopens the cafe she ran R trait of three couples in the with her husband. Taking in strays former Yugoslavia as they battle the and cooking her heart out, she soon forces trying to separate them. attracts a devoted international Miroslav Mandic unobtrusively trucker clientele, stealing business observes his subjects as they go about away from her enamored in-law in their daily lives, juggling finances, the process. A well-observed script, jobs, children, and danger, and he faultlessly nuanced acting, and a deftly intercuts their stories—the sharply delineated sociopolitical non-Muslim truck driver and his sense make this film as enjoyable as Muslim girlfriend who live in Mostar it is intelligent. In Greek, Farsi, and but must meet clandestinely to avoid Turkish with subtitles. 111 min. (RS) their families’ anger, a Catholic a Landmark, 6:45 PM woman from Croatia and her Eastern Orthodox boyfriend from How to Eat Your Watermelon in Montenegro who for three years have White Company (and Enjoy It) been rendezvousing at the border, Melvin Van Peebles made his mark and a happily married couple with a on American movies with the angry young daughter whose families were Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song literally at war with each other sev- (1971), whose chaotic production and eral years earlier. In Serbo-Croatian unexpected commercial success were with subtitles. 84 min. (JK) a River lovingly chronicled by his son Mario’s East, 4:45 PM 2003 drama Baadasssss! But as Joe Angio shows in this lively documen- Everlasting Regret La moustache tary, Van Peebles also made a name See listing under Friday, October 7. for himself on Broadway in the early merger of east and west Germany as Learning to Swallow and have-nots are undercut by a a Landmark, 4:45 PM 70s with productions such as Ain’t it does about father-son relation- See listing under Friday, sour, inept ending. In English and Supposed to Die a Natural Death, ships. Milan Peschel gives a complex, R October 7. a River East, 9 PM unsubtitled Spanish. 91 min. (AG) Tuning and later in life he launched a career engrossing performance as the a River East, 9:15 PM See listing under Friday, October 7. as a Wall Street trader. This has its father, who fantasizes about getting Carmen in Khayelitsha a Landmark, 5:15 PM narrative lapses (an awful mock- into the security industry after his This South African rendering of Stories of Disenchantment newsreel segment summarizes Van small electronics repair shop goes Carmen is only the latest attempt to The visual effects in this Mexican Free Zone Peebles’s early years), but its framing under. He’s pathetically clueless make Bizet’s chestnut more palatable extravaganza—with orgies staged like This Israeli feature by Amos Gitai motif—in which he has his head cast about even formatting a resumé, and to contemporary audiences. Sung music videos and lavish conceits opens with a ten-minute close-up of in polyurethane for a sculpture and roles are reversed as his son coaches and spoken in Xhosa, Mark involving devils, mirrors, vampires, Natalie Portman weeping—a grand- ultimately poses beside it at an exhi- him on getting a job. Thalheim pep- Dornford-May’s frenetic adaptation and filmmaking—are so attention standing scene that was apparently bition—nicely captures the artist’s pers his story with indifferent, nearly features solid performances by the grabbing it takes a while to see how enough to win her a best actress fierce powers of self-invention (and silent characters who listen as the leads (especially Pauline Malefane as shallow their narrative pretexts are. award at the Cannes film festival. self-regard). 85 min. (JJ) a River father rants about Western influ- Carmen, singing with gusto and car- It’s hard to know whether writer- Her character, a young New Yorker East, 7 PM ences destroying the heart and soul rying her large frame with consider- director Alejandro Valle and codi- visiting Tel Aviv, has just broken up of Germany. Ironically, his idol is a able grace) and a shantytown setting rector Felipe Gomez love decadence with her Israeli boyfriend after The Squid and the Whale German country-and-western singer that places this tale of fatal passions because of how it looks or because hearing of his loathsome actions in a This big step forward by comic whose poster hangs on the wall of his in a hardscrabble postapartheid Cape they want to squeeze some esoteric Palestinian refugee camp, and on a R writer-director Noah decrepit apartment, and Clint Town. The film is never dull and content out of their images, but the whim she accompanies a tough- Baumbach (Kicking and Screaming, Eastwood becomes his role model he often rousing, but this is essentially a atmosphere is psychedelic 60s minus minded Israeli cabdriver (Hanna Mr. Jealousy) is a tragicomic autobi- as tries to shake his low self-esteem. conventional version of a classic the cruelty of El topo and the sheer Laslo) who’s going to Jordan to col- ographical account of the breakup of With Sebastian Butz. In German opera—the attempt to transform it nerve of Performance. Basically it’s lect some money owed her disabled his parents’ marriage. The father with subtitles. 87 min. (JK) into a critique of macho hubris all nonsense, but I thoroughly husband. Gitai uses fluidly superim- (Jeff Daniels) and mother (Laura a Landmark, 7:15 PM comes off as an afterthought, and enjoyed it until it wore me down. posed shots to fill in the story as they Linney) are both fiction writers living the poverty is just a backdrop. With In Spanish with subtitles. 120 min. make their journey, but the exposi- in Brooklyn, and their determination Summer in Berlin subtitles. 120 min. (RMP) (JR) a Landmark, 9:15 PM tion consistently overshadows the to remain liberated about sexual Nothing much is original in this a Landmark, 9 PM action, and despite a provocative matters as they separate and divorce soggy tale of two German women Two Auroras climax, the movie settles into a pon- drives their two sons (Jesse whose friendship persists despite Havoc See listing under Friday, October 7. derous collection of soliloquies. In Eisenberg and Owen Kline) nuts. adversity and their own bad choices. From its opening scene, of kids from a River East, 9:30 PM English and subtitled Hebrew. 90 The implied critique of progressive, Katrin (Inka Friedrich) is a divorced LA’s wealthy Pacific Palisades enclave min. (JJ) a Landmark, 6:30 PM bohemian parenting is devastating— mother who, though attractive and banging heads with street toughs, the Hiding Behind the Camera, wise and nuanced, with the painful educated, can’t land a job; her best first narrative fiction feature of Part 2 Sunflower hilarity of truth. With William pal, Nike (Nadja Uhl), is a bomb- Oscar-winning documentarian Part one isn’t a film but a book of pho- Zhang Yang, who’s directed several Baldwin and Anna Paquin. R, 88 shell who labors as a home health- Barbara Kopple (Harlan County, tographs by the director of this work, semicommercial films that con- min. (JR) a Landmark, 7 PM care worker. Nike’s most self- U.S.A.) recycles almost every tired Carl Johan De Geer, who documents nected with Chinese audiences, destructive tendency is her poor cliche from the urban-teen genre. his travels and reflections after stretches here as he tries to cover the Sangre taste in men, soon demonstrated Anne Hathaway plays a bored high hearing about the death of a child- last four decades of Chinese history See listing under Friday, October 7. when she enters a romance with a school sex kitten enamored of a hood servant. In Swedish with subti- through the story of one Beijing a River East, 7:15 PM boorish trucker (Andreas Schmidt). white-bread gangsta wannabe, until tles. 76 min. a Landmark, 9:30 PM family. Intergenerational conflict, But the movie ambles for a full hour he’s humiliated during a showdown with paternal authority pitted Net before we learn what holds Katrin with a Latino drug dealer (Freddy The Dark Hours against youthful freedom, powers the Robert Thalheim’s comedy back, and the revelation feels like Rodriguez). Then she and her high- See listing under Friday, Octo- family story. The father is played R drama, in which a down-and- it’s been tacked on just to give the strung best friend (Bijou Phillips) R ber 7. a River East, 11:30 PM impressively by Sun Haiying, his son out father reunites with his 15-year- narrative a much-needed arc. head to East LA looking for more— is played unconvincingly by a dif- old son after several years, has as Directed by Andreas Dresen. In which they find, with predictable P ferent young actor in each decade of much to say about the continuing German with subtitles. 105 min. results. Any sociopolitical issues See listing under Friday, October 7. the story, and Joan Chen appears as a economic fallout following the (AG) a Landmark, 8:45 PM raised about the gap between haves a Landmark, 11:30 PM CHICAGO READER | OCTOBER 7,2005 | SECTION TWO 27
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Border Cafe, Platform
a Landmark, 4:15 PM My Grandmother’s House reality with Anita Hill’s 1991 testi- Hamas chief Sheikh Ahmed Yassin. Sunday, October 9 See listing under Friday, October 7. mony before the Senate Judiciary (Hoping to pick apart the evidence The Dark Hours a Landmark, 6:45 PM Committee. Niki Caro (Whale for Jewish control of Hollywood, he The Phantom of the Operator See listing under Friday, Octo- Rider) directed; with Frances phones Norman Lear, Larry David, Canadian filmmaker Caroline Martel R ber 7. a River East, 4:30 PM How to Eat Your Watermelon in McDormand, Sean Bean, and and Rob Reiner but gets the royal pieced together found footage from White Company (and Enjoy It) Woody Harrelson. 123 min. (JJ) runaround.) Levin’s curiosity and more than 100 industrial films to Shorts: Behind Closed Doors See listing under Saturday, October a River East, 8:30 PM evenhandedness distinguish the show the role women telephone A 107-minute program of interna- 8. a River East, 8:15 PM movie, though he’s largely silent operators played in the development tional shorts about secrets, including It’s Not You, It’s Me about the pro-Israel lobby’s influ- of global communication. In English works from Belgium, France, the The Matador See listing under Friday, October 7. ence on U.S. foreign policy, the and subtitled French. 66 min. Also UK, and the U.S. a River East, Recently bounced by the Bond a Landmark, 8:30 PM basis for some of his subjects’ on the program are two hours’ worth 5:30 PM franchise, Pierce Brosnan tweaks paranoia. 93 min. (JJ) of prizewinners from INTERCOM, his old alter ego and becomes a The Masseur a Landmark, 6:45 PM the International Communications My Nikifor burned-out international assassin See listing under Friday, October 7. Film and Video Competition. In the most extraordinary who crosses paths with a struggling a River East, 8:45 PM The Consequences of Love a River East, 1 PM F R cross-dressing performance Denver yuppie (Greg Kinnear) See listing under Saturday, October since Linda Hunt’s in The Year of down Mexico City way. The Tuning 8. a Landmark, 6:45 PM Border Cafe Living Dangerously, 85-year-old engaging first act channels Strangers See listing under Friday, October 7. See listing under Saturday, character actress Krystyna on a Train, with the dangerously a Landmark, 8:45 PM How to Eat Your Watermelon in R October 8. a Landmark, 1 PM Feldmann incarnates the wizened, charming Brosnan playing Bruno White Company (and Enjoy It) semiautistic Polish “primitive” to Kinnear’s square but susceptible The Squid and the Whale See listing under Saturday, October Sunflower painter Nikifor. Krzysztof Krauze’s Guy. But rather than sticking to See listing under Saturday, 8. a River East, 7 PM See listing under Saturday, October oddball biopic shows Nikifor wan- Patricia Highsmith country, writer- R October 8. a Landmark, 9 PM 8. a River East, 1:15 PM dering into the neat studio of the director Richard Shepard descends The Buried Forest bureaucrat-sanctioned brush to the lower, safer road of See listing under Friday, October 7. Carmen in Khayelitsha pusher Marian Wlosinski in 1960. schmuck-and-schlub buddy Monday, October 10 a Landmark, 7 PM See listing under Saturday, October Serenely oblivious to most of the comedies like Planes, Trains & 8. a Landmark, 1:15 PM social niceties of hygiene and Automobiles and Analyze This. Shorts: Behind Closed Doors Border Cafe behavior, he silently commandeers If he’d gone a few notches darker See listing under Sunday, October 9. See listing under Saturday, Octo- Net art supplies and a desk while and deeper he might have had a a River East, 4 PM R ber 8. a Landmark, 8:30 PM See listing under Saturday, Octo- offhandedly denigrating formidable post-cold war thriller. R ber 8. a Landmark, 1:30 PM Wlosinski’s work, eventually Still, there’s much to enjoy in My Nikifor Johanna derailing the young man’s career Brosnan’s enthusiastic scruffing up See listing under Sunday, Octo- See listing under Friday, October 7. Havoc and marriage. As Nikifor obses- of his Bond/Steele image and in R ber 9. a River East, 6:30 PM a River East, 8:45 PM See listing under Saturday, October sively paints buildings, villagers, Shepard’s energetic, if lightweight, 8. a River East, 2:15 PM and saints, crafting some 40,000 direction. 97 min. (MR) Net Transamerica works, Wlosinski sacrifices every- a Landmark, 8:15 PM See listing under Saturday, Octo- Duncan Tucker’s first feature is an Hiding Behind the Camera, thing to care for him, and the com- R ber 8. a Landmark, 6:30 PM occasionally touching, more often Part 2 munist bureaucracy of the pictur- North Country clumsy variation on the formula of See listing under Saturday, October esque mountain resort town Charlize Theron, in nonglam Mrs. Henderson Presents crusty oldster and problem child 8. a Landmark, 2:15 PM scrambles to cope with the decid- R mode, dominates this powerful See listing under Friday, Octo- bonding on a road trip. The main edly problematic folk artist and his drama about sexual harassment at a R ber 7. a River East, 6:45 PM reason to see it is Desperate Summer in Berlin fame. In Polish with subtitles. 100 Minnesota iron ore mine in the Housewives star Felicity Huffman See listing under Saturday, October min. (RS) a River East, 6 PM early 90s. Physically abused by her The Protocols of Zion and her buzz-gathering perform- 8. a Landmark, 3:15 PM husband, she hits the road with her A hoax concocted in the late ance as an anxious pre-op trannie, The Wayward Cloud two kids, finds shelter with her par- R 19th century, the anti-Semitic which tops Dustin Hoffman’s Stories of Disenchantment See listing under Friday, October 7. ents (Richard Jenkins and Sissy text The Protocols of the Elders of Tootsie role—he was just a guy See listing under Saturday, October a Landmark, 6 PM Spacek), and takes advantage of a Zion keeps circulating, and its trying to play a woman. But like 8. a Landmark, 3:30 PM recent Supreme Court ruling to hire resurgence after the 9/11 attacks Hoffman, Huffman offers a La moustache on at the mine where her father prompted Marc Levin (Slam) to quaintly prim, prissy vision of Sangre See listing under Friday, October 7. works. The women there are merci- direct this engrossing digital docu- womanhood, one that ties into the See listing under Friday, October 7. a Landmark, 6:15 PM lessly hazed, and eventually Theron mentary. Using a single camera and film’s anachronistic roadside a River East, 4 PM begins prodding them to act. his father as soundman, Levin America of wigwam motels and Two Auroras Michael Seitzman based his script proves an intrepid investigator, retro eateries and its 50s-style fin- Free Zone See listing under Friday, October 7. on Clara Bingham and Laura Leedy quizzing a Palestinian publisher of gering of monstrous mom as the See listing under Saturday, October a River East, 6:30 PM Gansler’s nonfiction book Class the book in the U.S., a representa- root of family dysfunction. The best 8. a Landmark, 4 PM Action, indulging in some tive of the white supremacist thing besides Huffman is Graham Carmen in Khayelitsha Hollywood tropes (a melodramatic National Alliance, the creator of Greene’s graceful cameo as a Garpastum See listing under Saturday, October courtroom drama that frames the the Web site Jew Watch, and Arabs courtly rancher. 100 min. (MR) See listing under Friday, October 7. 8. a Landmark, 6:30 PM action) but anchoring the story in outside a New York memorial for a River East, 9 PM 28 CHICAGO READER | OCTOBER 7,2005 | SECTION T WO Chicago International Fı lm Festival
Summer in Berlin Well-Tempered Corpses See listing under Saturday, October A black comedy set in postwar 8. a Landmark, 9 PM Bosnia and Herzegovina, Benjamin Filipovic’s feature focuses on a bet Free Zone between two coroners at a morgue in See listing under Saturday, October Sarajevo. In Bosnian with subtitles. 8. a Landmark, 9 PM 92 min. a Landmark, 8:30 PM
Shorts: Homegrown Mutual Appreciation See listing under Saturday, October The first feature of young indie 8. a River East, 9:15 PM R writer-director-editor Andrew Bujalski, Funny Ha Ha (2002), Stories of Disenchantment already has a cult following, and his See listing under Saturday, October second is equally bright and assured. 8. a Landmark, 9:15 PM Working here in 16-millimeter black and white blown up to 35-millimeter, he warmly observes another set of Tuesday, October 11 young adults tentatively moving toward—or passively avoiding— Borderline Lovers serious relationships with the oppo- See listing under Saturday, site sex. The central figures are a R October 8. a River East, 5 PM charismatic but noncommittal single musician (Justin Rice) and his two Shorts: Homegrown best friends, a couple (Rachel Clift See listing under Saturday, October and Bujalski) who’ve just moved in 8. a River East, 6:15 PM together. One of Bujalski’s gifts is his ability to give every part, no matter The Consequences of Love how big or small, a sense of intelli- See listing under Saturday, October gence and life that extends beyond 8. a Landmark, 6:15 PM the frame and running time, and in this his work recalls the best of both Shopgirl Mike Leigh and Richard Linklater. A curiously bloodless effort from the The supporting cast includes usually reliable Steve Martin. He experimental filmmaker Bill wrote the script, based on his similarly Morrison and Funny Ha Ha ’s lead, flat novella about a romantic triangle Kate Dollenmayer, who appears at a between a Saks glove salesclerk memorable “wig party.” 110 min. (Claire Danes), a boyish slacker (Jason (JH) a Landmark, 8:45 PM Schwartzman), and a wealthy Internet entrepreneur (Martin). They not only Fateless don’t connect, they seem to exist in Respected Hungarian cinematogra- different universes, the slacker’s being pher Lajos Koltai (Being Julia) the liveliest, if only fitfully amusing. makes his directing debut with this Director Anand Tucker (Hilary and long, heavy, and not particularly edi- Jackie, producer of Girl With a Pearl fying Holocaust drama, adapted by Earring) moves the three around the Imre Kertesz from his own novel. LA and (ostensibly) Seattle locations The opening scenes, set in a middle- at a measured pace, creating a class Jewish home in Budapest, are romantic comedy with precious little beautifully shot; the closing ones, romance and even less comedy. 106 which show the young protagonist min. (MB) a River East, 6:30 PM (Marcell Nagy) trying to adjust after coming home from Auschwitz, are CCTV the most emotionally complex. The conceit of Vassilis Katsikis’s Separating them is an hour and a experimental Greek feature, which half of shapeless blue gray misery in mixes documentary and fiction, is the camps, which eventually devolves that a video camera that works only into a series of blackouts. The hero’s intermittently is passed from one intriguing claim near the end, that he The Protocols of Zion, Transamerica person to another and we see every- was able to find happiness in the thing shot on it. In Greek with subti- camps, might have distinguished this Gabrielle heartless psychological thriller. Borderline Lovers tles. 81 min. a Landmark, 6:30 PM from other Holocaust films, but Though based on a short story An attractive insurance investigator See listing under Saturday, Koltai never shows us any evidence. R by Joseph Conrad, Patrice (Isabelle Carré) with a husband R October 8. a River East, 7 PM My Nikifor In Hungarian with subtitles. 140 Chereau’s Gabrielle brings to mind and child crosses professional See listing under Sunday, Octo- min. (JJ) a River East, 9 PM the plays of Strindberg and Albee. paths with a contentious Hiding Behind the Camera, R ber 9. a River East, 7 PM Chereau was of course a man of the veterinarian (Benoit Poelvoorde), Part 2 Sunflower theater before becoming a film who begins to pursue her sexually, See listing under Saturday, October Watermarks See listing under Saturday, October director, and this highly stylized showing up at her workplace and 8. a Landmark, 7:30 PM This 2004 Israeli documentary by 8. a Landmark, 9 PM portrait of a loveless marriage at winning her over despite her better Yaron Zilberman profiles a group of the beginning of the 20th century judgment. He may also be a Platform Jewish women who became interna- Havoc merges a claustrophobic theatri- psychotic ripper who’s been My selection for the festival’s tional swimming champs as part of See listing under Saturday, October cality with dazzlingly cinematic dispatching women left and right, R Critic’s Choice category is Jia Hakoah, an Austrian league founded 8. a River East, 9:15 PM wide-screen compositions (the and in the finest Hitchcockian Zhang-ke’s second feature (2002), in 1909 after racial laws excluded sumptuous cinematography is by fashion, her physical fascination his best work to date and one of the Jews from gentile sporting associa- Transamerica Eric Gautier). The narrative is pro- with him increases with her fear. most impressive Chinese films I’ve tions. Unfortunately their story ends See listing under Monday, October pelled by the decision of Gabrielle (a Fontaine and Julien Boivent ever seen. Its theme is the great just as it becomes most provocative: 10. a Landmark, 9:15 PM superb performance by Isabelle adapted a novel by Dominique theme of Chinese cinema, the dis- Judith Deutsch, who defied Hitler by Huppert) to return to her befuddled Barberis. 90 min. (JJ) covery of history, which links such refusing to compete in the Berlin husband, Jean (Pascal Greggory), a Landmark, 6:30 PM otherwise disparate masterpieces as Olympics in 1936, recedes from view Wednesday, October 12 after a passionate dalliance with The Blue Kite, Blush, Actress, The as her other teammates convene for a another man. By the time she Shorts: Behind Closed Doors Puppet Master, and A Brighter reunion in Vienna, facing not only Mutual Appreciation declares near the end of the film See listing under Sunday, October 9. Summer Day. Platform is as ambi- painful memories but younger gener- See listing under Tuesday, Octo- that she’s repelled by the very idea a River East, 6:45 PM tious as any of these predecessors, ations who can’t resist reminding R ber 11. a Landmark, 4 PM of her husband’s sperm inside her, and its style is no less magisterial. them of their otherness. In English their bourgeois household has Bang Bang Orangutang The story charts the course of the and subtitled German, Hebrew, and Learning to Swallow become a minefield. In French with Swedish filmmaker Simon Staho Cultural Revolution for about a Yiddish. 77 min. (AG) a Landmark, See listing under Friday, Octo- subtitles. 90 min. (RMP) ( Day and Night) follows a middle- decade, noting the shifts in values 7 PM F R ber 7. a River East, 4:30 PM a Landmark, 6:30 PM class businessman who’s estranged and lifestyles, culture and economy from his family and winds up as China moves inexorably from The Protocols of Zion CCTV Entre ses mains losing his home and living in his Maoism to capitalism and acquires See listing under Monday, Octo- See listing under Tuesday, October French director Anne taxi after the accidental death of glitzy Western accoutrements—all as R ber 10. a Landmark, 7 PM 11. a Landmark, 5:30 PM R Fontaine, who explored the his son. Things come to a head witnessed by five actors in a provin- dark undercurrents of a father-son once he becomes involved with cial traveling theater troupe. Many Kissing on the Mouth Fateless relationship in her excellent How I a much younger woman. In episodes unfold in single long takes, See listing under Friday, October 7. See listing under Tuesday, October Killed My Father, ventures even Swedish with subtitles. 100 min. and the beautifully choreographed a River East, 8:30 PM 11. a River East, 6:30 PM further into shadow with this a Landmark, 6:45 PM mise en scene recalls the fluid CHICAGO READER | OCTOBER 7,2005 | SECTION TWO 29
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with vintage footage and the reflec- sent to stay temporarily with his tions of people such as Armistead father’s mother in the country. Maupin and John Waters. Despite Unfamiliar with the slower pace of Berlin’s frankness about his personal rural living, the boy quickly bonds love life and his preference for being with his grandmother and a painter watched when he’s not having sex, who encourages him to draw, and it’s the Garbo of gay porn remains elu- soon apparent that, like his late sive, largely because Tushinski grandfather, he’s a talented artist. In a doesn’t seem to see the ironies and direct and unfettered style, Bhan con- contradictions in his subject’s life. trasts the chaos and alienation of the He’s much better when exploring city with the warmth and tranquillity Berlin’s aesthetic and working of the country and stresses the impor- methods. 80 min. (JH) Digital pro- tance of family and tradition. At jection. a River East, 9:15 PM times his approach seems overly sim- plistic, but it’s also utterly sincere. Everlasting Regret With Sulabha Deshpande and Omkar See listing under Saturday, Octo- Lele. In Hindi with subtitles. 88 min. R ber 8. a River East, 9:15 PM (JK) a River East, 7:15 PM
On the One Entre ses mains A Los Angeles rap star returns to his See listing under Wednesday, roots in Harlem and encourages R October 12. a Landmark, teenagers to join the choir at his 7:15 PM twin brother’s church. Directed by Charles Randolph-Wright. 100 min. Unknown White Male a Landmark, 9:15 PM The extraordinary subject and R the filmmaker’s near total access make for a singular documen- Thursday, October 13 tary. Rupert Murray turned his camera on close friend Douglas Well-Tempered Corpses Bruce, a well-heeled British stock- See listing under Tuesday, October broker turned photographer who one 11. a Landmark, 4:15 PM night left his Manhattan loft only to resurface on Coney Island having lost Shorts: Personal Revelations his memory. He’s suffering from a A 102-minute program of short rare form of retrograde amnesia, and works from Canada, France, New though his intellect remains intact, Zealand, the UK, and the U.S. he has to relearn skills and reenter a River East, 6:30 PM long-standing relationships with family and friends: absolutely every- On the One thing he encounters is new. It’s as See listing under Wednesday, though he’s stepped into a parallel October 12. a Landmark, 6:30 PM universe, not so much rebuilding his life but becoming a different person Gates of Heaven in the same skin—and our empathy Errol Morris’s widely admired first and fascination grow as he finds his documentary feature (1978) is a way. 88 min. (AG) a Landmark, detailed look at pet cemeteries. His 8:45 PM use of talking-head interviews ini- tially appears cool and conventional, That Man: Peter Berlin but there’s a lot more to it in terms See listing under Wednesday, of form and attitude than initially October 12. a River East, 9 PM meets the eye, and the apparent cruelty of the deadpan satire gradu- CCTV ally gives way to something more See listing under Tuesday, October compassionate, as well as deeper 11. a Landmark, 9 PM and stranger. 85 min. (JR) This is Roger Ebert’s selection for the Everlasting Regret festival’s Critic’s Choice category. See listing under Saturday, a Landmark, 6:45 PM R October 8. a Landmark, 9 PM Clockwise from top: My Nikifor, How to Eat Your Watermelon in White Company (and Enjoy It), North Country Look Both Ways Mongolian Pingpong Hungarian pageants of Miklos Grain in Ear Werckmeister Harmonies, is a black- Death comes ripping in this A nine-year-old boy living on the Jancso in the 60s and 70s. The polit- A quietly chilling melodrama of and-white absurdist comedy that R novel debut feature by Mongolian steppes finds a Ping- ical implications are at times sin- R alienation and repressed fury, plays like a bad drug-induced dream. Melbourne animator Sarah Watt, Pong ball floating down a stream. ister: one memorable sequence is Zhang Lu’s second feature merci- The four principal characters work as who integrates live-action drama After concluding that it isn’t an egg, punctuated by offscreen gunshots as lessly exposes the disempowerment chimney sweeps in Budapest, mostly with an endless array of kinetic, he carries around the “glowing prisoners are being executed. and dispossession that all too fre- because the job gives them lots of hand-drawn fantasies. Beset by pearl” as a talisman, learns that it’s Originally 192 minutes long, the film quently characterize life in today’s time to get high and plot get-rich- fearful visions, a bohemian artist China’s “national ball,” and winds up was recut by its writer-director to its ferociously capitalist China. Cui quick schemes, and they lurch from (Justine Clarke) witnesses a man fighting over it with a friend. This current 155 minutes. Essential Shunji is a poor Korean roadside one disaster to the next like som- being killed by a train, an event with sounds like a slender premise on viewing. In Mandarin with subtitles. kimchi seller, marginalized because nambulists. A strong first film, profound repercussions not only for which to hang a feature, but director (JR) a Landmark, 8:30 PM of her ethnicity. She and her son, immensely popular in Hungary, with her but for the guilt-ridden engineer, Ning Hao is more interested in who share a small cement-block a tight minimalist script by Vranik the victim’s shell-shocked wife, and a ethnography and landscapes than The Death of Mr. Lazarescu house with a group of friendly prosti- and Gergely Poharnok. In Hungarian callous tabloid reporter and his narrative and often holds our The last day and night in the tutes, become entangled with a local with subtitles. 80 min. (JK) coworker (William McInnes), a pho- interest by concentrating on how R life of a cranky, ailing 63-year- cop and a Korean-Chinese busi- a Landmark, 9 PM tographer who’s just discovered he folklore, technology—motorbikes, old widower in the Bucharest sub- nessman, who offer protection and has terminal cancer. Watt’s script is a cars, trucks, films, TV—and imagi- urbs, with an ambulance carting him sex respectively, though with dan- That Man: Peter Berlin bit overstuffed, and by the end the nation affect a nomadic way of life. from one overtaxed hospital to gerous conditions attached. The With his Tarzan physique, Dutch- roiling animated sequences (drawn In Mongolian with subtitles. 102 another, may sound like an ordeal, film’s style and content are in perfect boy haircut, and cucumber crotch, by Emma Kelly and inked by Watt min. (JR) a River East, 9:15 PM but this 154-minute Romanian equipoise: Zhang’s still camera, a model and gay erotica legend Peter and Clare Callinan) are wearing out odyssey is anything but. Both sad constant since his stunning mini- Berlin set a standard for masculinity their welcome. But the convincing The Great Yokai War and darkly funny, the film is so malist debut, Tang Poetry, draws in the 70s. Jim Tushinski’s video characters and hearty examination of Prolific cult schlockmeister Takashi sharply conceived and richly popu- perfectly calibrated frames around documentary reveals how the mortality make this fresh and oddly Miike tries his hand once again at lated that it often registers like a scenes of nearly silent tension. A pre- German-born Berlin cultivated his uplifting. 100 min. (JJ) a River Japanese folklore, complete with Frederick Wiseman documentary, cise and devastating snapshot of iconic image by photographing him- East, 7 PM magic and black humor. In Japanese even though everything is scripted China today. In Mandarin and self for magazine layouts and with subtitles. 124 min. (JR) and every part played by a profes- Korean with subtitles. 109 min. (SK) directing two Warholian porn fea- Gabrielle a River East, 9:15 PM sional. This is only the second feature a River East, 9 PM tures before abruptly retiring from See listing under Wednesday, of Cristi Puiu, who claims to have filmmaking. Now in his 60s and R October 12. a Landmark, 7 PM Mutual Appreciation been inspired by his own hypochon- Black Brush living in relative seclusion in San See listing under Tuesday, Octo- dria, but he’s already clearly a master. The first feature of Roland Francisco, the proudly narcissistic Behind the Mirror R ber 11. a Landmark, 9:30 PM In Romanian with subtitles. (JR) R Vranik, assistant director on star of That Boy reflects on his Writer-director Rajkumar Bhan fol- a Landmark, 8:45 PM Bela Tarr’s elusive masterpiece career in interviews that are intercut lows a boy who lives in Bombay but is NEXT WEEK: The rest of the fest 30 CHICAGO READER | OCTOBER 7,2005 | SECTION T WO CHICAGO READER | OCTOBER 7,2005 | SECTION TWO 31
continued from page 22 Gail Ramsey signs her suspense novel, Tick Through the Eyes of Columbia College” Divas: Searching the Globe for a New Kind Tock. Fri 10/7, noon-2 PM, Books-a-Million, Architectural historian Tim Wittman speaks of Heroine. Fri 10/7, 12:30 PM, Borders, 150 144 S. Clark, 312-857-0613. Fri 10/7, 3-5:30 on “The Architectural History of Columbia’s N. State, 312-606-0750. PM, Books-a-Million, 8331 Golf, Niles, 847- Buildings” for this exhibit-lecture program. 470-7810. Also see Chicago Book Festival. Wed 10/12, 6-7:45 PM, Columbia College, Myopic Poetry Series Melissa Buzzeo and 624 S. Michigan, third floor, 312-344-7355. Amina Cain are the featured readers. Sun Melanie Rehak discusses Girl Sleuth: A reception follows. 10/9, 7 PM, Myopic Books, 1564 N. Nancy Drew and the Women Who Created Milwaukee, 773-862-4882. Her. Tue 10/11, 7:30 PM, Women & Children “Sheltow-ee and Blackfish: Daniel Boone, First, 5233 N. Clark, 773-769-9299. See the Shawnee, and the Siege of Fort “One Book, One Chicago” The Jane review in Section 1. Boonesborough, 1778” Talk by historian Austen novel Pride and Prejudice is the Fred Christensen. Sun 10/9, 1 PM, Mitchell selection for the city’s ninth annual collec- Zainab Salbi presents her memoir, Museum of the American Indian, Kendall tive reading program. For a roundup of Between Two Worlds: Escape From College, 2600 Central Park, Evanston, 847- book discussions at neighborhood libraries, Tyranny —Growing Up in the Shadow of 475-1030. Free with $5 suggested museum check out chicagopubliclibrary.org. Saddam. Thu 10/13, 7:30 PM, Borders, 4718 admission; $2.50 kids, students, seniors. N. Broadway, 773-334-7338. Open University of the Left Writer-critic “States of Art Criticism” A School of the Warren Leming presents “In Hitler’s Hans Joachim Schädlich reads from his Art Institute symposium. Art historian Shadow: Kuhle Wampe and Triumph of the novel Anders (in German); actor Richard James Elkins on “Conditions of Art Will.” Sat 10/8, 2 PM, Acme Art Works, 1741 Henzel reads from Schädlich’s Give Him Criticism.” Mon 10/10, noon, SAIC auditori- N. Western, 773-384-5797. $5 suggested Speech: Life and Death of the Poet Aesop um, 280 S. Columbus. Writer-critic-theorist donation. (in English). Mon 10/10, 6 PM, Goethe- Helene Cixous on “Arts of Escaping.” Mon Institut, 150 N. Michigan, suite 200, 312- 10/10, 6 PM, SAIC ballroom, 112 S. Kathy Kelly Caryl Phillips reads from his latest novel, 263-0472. Reservations requested. Michigan. New Criterion associate editor Dancing in the Dark. Thu 10/13, 7 PM, James Panero hosts a seminar called “Why (fiction) and Garrett Brown (poetry) read Christine Wicker ( Lily Dale: The True International House, Univ. of Chicago, 1414 Cathleen Schandelmeier-Bartels reads Critics Are Not Your Friends.” Tue 10/11, their work. Fri 10/7, 6 PM, Barbara’s Story of the Town That Talks to the Dead) E. 59th, 773-752-4381. from her poetry collection Chicago Phoenix 10:30 AM, SAIC Maclean Center, 112 S. Bookstore, 1218 S. Halsted, 312-413-2665. presents Not in Kansas Anymore: A Curious as part of the multimedia event “Moving Michigan. “States of Art Criticism” round- Tale of How Magic Is Transforming “Poem Present” Poet and novelist Chicago”; with music, shadow puppets, and table. Tue 10/11, 1-4 PM, Art Institute, “Understanding Geological History America. Mon 10/10, 7 PM, Transitions Susan Wheeler ( Ledger, Record Palace) performances by Ha!Man (aka Francois le Morton Auditorium, Michigan & Adams. Through Fossils” Lecture by paleontolo- Bookplace, 1000 W. North, 312-951-7323. speaks on “Mutant Vernaculars” for this Roux) and others. Sat 10/8, 7 and 9 PM, Critic Dave Hickey on “Art After Criticism.” gist Spencer Lucas. Sat 10/8, 2 PM, Field series. Fri 10/7, 1 PM, Univ. of Chicago and Sun 10/9, 5 PM, Peter Jones Gallery, Tue 10/11, 6 PM, Art Institute, Fullerton Museum, 1400 S. Lake Shore Dr., 312-665- Andrew Winston signs his debut novel, Wieboldt Hall, room 408, 1050 E. 59th, 1806 W. Cuyler, 773-472-9723. $12. Hall, Michigan & Adams. 312-443-3711. $10 7400. $16, $12 students and educators. Looped. Tue 10/11, 7 PM, Book Stall at 773-834-8524. per event. Reservations recommended. Chestnut Court, 811 Elm, Winnetka, 847- Donna Seaman The Booklist associate edi- University of Chicago First Friday 446-8880. “A Portrait of American Power in the tor and host of WLUW’s Open Books pro- Twilight Tales Halloween kickoff with writ- Lecture Basic Program instructor Ray Middle East” Lecture by writer-researcher gram talks about Writers on the Air: ers Raymond Benson, Patricia McCoy, Tina Ciacci offers “Some Observations “The World Beyond the Headlines” Gregory Harms ( The Palestine-Israel Conversations About Books. Sun 10/9, 1:30 Jens, and Jody Lynn Nye. Mon 10/10, 7:30 Concerning Four Writers of Aphorisms: La Former national security adviser Anthony Conflict: A Basic Introduction). A Society of PM, Book Stall at Chestnut Court, 811 Elm, PM, Red Lion Pub, 2446 N. Lincoln, 773- Rochefouchauld, Pascal, Guicciardini, and Lake speaks on “Feeling the Heat: Midland Authors program. Tue 10/11, 7 PM, Winnetka, 847-446-8880. 348-2695. $4 suggested donation. Nietzsche.” Fri 10/7, 12:15 PM, Chicago Simmering National Security Threats” for Chicago Athletic Association, 12 S. Cultural Center, Claudia Cassidy Theater, 78 this series. Fri 10/7, 1 PM, International Michigan, 773-262-5806. $5. A social hour “Serving, Saving, and Saluting the UIC Program for Writers’ Reading Series E. Washington, 312-744-6630 or 773-834- House, Univ. of Chicago, 1414 E. 59th, 773- precedes. South Loop: Preservation and History UIC writing faculty members Cris Mazza 0157. 834-4274.
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